It’s that time of year. Thanksgiving gone, Christmas and New Years are here. As we find ourselves entrenched in the holiday season, you may be wondering, is now a good time to buy a house? If you’ve been considering buying a new home and you’re not sure whether or not to start or continue your home search during this time of year, you should consider the following while taking the time to decide.
Mortgage Loan Interest Rates
Interest rates are still historically low! While we have enjoyed record low interest rates for quite some time now we likely will not see them drop that low again anytime soon. When you start thinking about things like a new president, transition in leadership, Covid 19 and other economic factors, now might be the time to capitalize on securing a good mortgage loan. Low interest rates means increased purchasing power for buyers. Lower monthly payments and higher purchase prices means you can get more for your money and in some cases, even jump into a higher price point.
Less Competition
During the Winter months, less people are looking to purchase homes. A lot of people wait until the Spring to get serious about home shopping and purchasing a house. People just assume that the Spring is the best time to buy and sell houses. But if the house you’re looking for is out there in the Winter, by all means you should go get it. Yes, there will still be other home shoppers out there and home sellers can only sell their home to one person but you stand a better chance of obtaining the home of your dreams if less people bid on it. There are less multiple offer nightmares during the holidays.
Motivated Sellers
People who list their home during the Winter are typically motivated to sell. It’s cold. It’s dark earlier and it’s really easy to say “Let’s wait until the Spring.” Most people are inclined to relax and home and enjoy the holiday season with their family. So if a family is willing to prepare their home, list their home, allow showings and inspections, chances are that they will want to sell and close the deal. Which means they may be more inclined to negotiate and comply with repair requests. It’s not necessarily true that buyers have the advantage in negotiations during the holidays but the sellers looking to sell during the holidays are going to work to get the transaction done.
Schedule Flexibility
One of the great things about the holidays is the time off. Having some downtime at work gives you more time to shop and find the home of your dreams. It also allows you to come to the inspections, attend any walkthroughs, sign and come to closing and even move in without crushing all of your vacation time at work. Most of the year is consumed with work, school and extracurricular activities but things seem to be a little slower and self paced during the holiday season. Ultimately, it’s up to you and your family to decide if buying during the holidays is a good idea. But it’s not something you should automatically dismiss or push off until the Spring.
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